Turkey: Legal Ordeal For Durket Süren On Bogus Terror-Related Charges Continues
Location: Turkey, Diyarbakır
Date: December 13, 2021Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
At the eighth hearing of journalist Durket Süren’s trial on terror-related charges prompted by her journalistic work on Monday the prosecution dropped the charges of “aiding and abetting”. Arguing the case before the Diyarbakır 11th High Criminal Court, the prosecutor moved the court to acquit the journalist of this charge but sought conviction for Durket on charges of “spreading terror propaganda”. The court gave the defence lawyer time to prepare arguments and adjourned the hearing till February 21, 2022.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the persistent legal harassment of the journalist. We are cognizant that all charges framed against Durket cite her journalistic work as evidence and demand for all unfounded charges against the journalist to be immediately dropped. We call on the Turkish state and judiciary to recognize that journalism is not a crime and cannot be treated as such.
The eighth hearing of the trial against the journalist was held on Monday at the Diyarbakır 11th High Criminal Court. Durket faces trial on charges of being affiliated with a terrorist organization, knowingly and willingly aiding an organization, and spreading propaganda for an organization. She is also being sued for her social media posts and is accused of selling banned issues of Azadiya Welat and Özgür Gündem newspapers.
The journalist who was put through pre-trial detention earlier was represented by her lawyers in court on Monday.
During the hearing, the prosecutor maintained that the charges of “aiding abetting” against the journalist can be dropped but sought conviction for Durket on charges of “spreading terrorist propaganda”. The prosecutor argued that 14 different posts shared by the journalist on social media were for the benefit of a terrorist organization.
The court asked the defendant to prepare a testimony to counter the prosecution’s arguments and adjourned the hearing till February 21, 2022. The previous hearing was adjourned as the court awaited missing case files. The journalist faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Durken was earlier detained in Diyarbakır following a search warrant issued for her around two years ago. The journalist’s social media posts, tape recordings, correspondence with sources in connection with a TV news segment she produced in 2017 and her membership with the Free Journalists Association have been cited as criminal evidence against her.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the baseless terror case against Durket Süren and calls for her immediate acquittal. We are deeply concerned over the systemic efforts by state institutions to embroil critical journalists in legal cases in blatant attempts to harass and intimidate them into silence. We call on the Turkish authorities to quit weaponizing the country’s anti-terror laws to gag journalists.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism closely monitors the incidents in Turkey with great concern. Since March 8, Women's Day, police violence against women journalists increasingly continues in the country. As the coalition, we urge the Turkish state to provide a free environment for journalists. Following the news is our most fundamental democratic right to report. We demand the immediate release of our detained colleagues. Journalism is not a crime. Journalism cannot be prevented.
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